West Virginia Democrat. [volume] (Charles Town, W. Va.) 1885-1890, 1887-02-25
THE BUSIEST OF ANIMALS.
Stories of the Beaver-His Industry And
Usefulness.

Stories of the Beaver-His Industry And
Usefulness.
Fort Keogh Letter to the San Francisco
Call.
There are more beaver now in Mon
tana than anywhere else in the Unit
ed States. The variety, too, is great
er there, for the writer has seen three
distinct specimens, all Of which were
trapped within 100 miles of this
point. Besides the ordinary beaver,
Piegan Indian killed not long ago,
on the upper Marias River, a female
beaver, and upon investigating her
home, found four young ones in the
cache, two of which wore white and
two black. The albino pair were
smaller than the dark ones, but they
were indeed a rarity, and most beau
tiful objects to behold. Another
rarity in the beaver line was found
over on Milk River about two years
ago. / refer to the golden beaver,
who possesses, l believe. the choic-
est snd rarest Of furs. Although
there must have been a family to
which this specimen belonged, yet
only one was captured. The Crow
Indians have number Of bright
rusty beaver skins, which they say
we're captured on their reservation,
at the head OF the Big Horn River.
They describe the fur when on the
animal as possessing q most bcauti-
full sunshiny appearance, which
leaves no question in my mind but
what the Grows captured the pelts
in question from the true golden
beaver. / have never heard of the
species being caught outside of 81
IBERIA, but here we certainly have
them in Montana.
The greatest resort Of beavers in
the Northwest is the head waters of
the Yellowstone River, It's tributa-
ries, and the Yellowstone National
Park. Beaver Lake, in the park, is
wonderful spot. The complicated
system of dams built by the saga
cious and industrious little animals
is not equaled on earth by the finest
kind of engineering work. They
are hard worke,s, and use judgment
in choosing place to bald AMI
live, and they make the dams Will
such patience and skill that tor
rent which would tear away the
strongest and best constructed by
man simply sweeps over them with-
out effect, and really leaves them
stronger than before, for instead Of
weakening the structure the reser-
yoir is filled with debris, which is,
in fact, just what the beavers want.
In choosing place to live Beaver
Lake will show the good sense of
these little animals.
To begin with, the lake itself is a
lively sheet OF water, hemmed in by
the famed obsidian clids on one side
and abrupt lofty mountains on the
other. Any one with half an eye
can see there never was such thing
rs Beaver Lake in existence until
the little animals themselves went
to work and damned the lower end
of the canon, which brought into
creation that charming and lovely
sheet of water. Dotting the lake in
hundreds oc places are little mounds
conical and oval in shape, rising di-
rectly out of the water. These are
the homes of the families. They
consist of archcd and iIterlocked
willows, plastered thick with mu l.,
which leaves covering about two
or three feet, which is sure protec-
tion against the cold of this climate.
The entrances are all under water,
small crev.ces being leit TO give the
necessary air. In choosing u place
for house they build far cut in The
water, away from lanai It possible,
for there they are safe from their he
reditary enemies the bear, the puma,
the gray wolf, and the mountain
lion, which fairly swarm tlirou shout
the park.
The beavers are pretty we'll huat-
ed all over Montana. but like all the
other animals .fere nature up this
way, they are naturally and surely
drifting over into the Yellowstone
National Park, which seems to be
about the only haven of safety left
to them in all the wide Northwest
They are protected by saving laws
Still the pothunters are ever after
them, and unless promptly checked
will destroy the remnant of wild
and fur bearing animals left in out
country. Only last..week pothunt
er was caught setting beaver traps
on Gardiner River, which is in The
Park limits. He was promptly eject